Deposition of thin films on a substrate surface is an important process in a variety of industries including semiconductor processing, diffusion barrier coatings and dielectrics for magnetic read/write heads. In the semiconductor industry, in particular, miniaturization requires atomic level control of thin film deposition to produce conformal coatings on high aspect structures.
One category of films that are important is metal carbides. These films are incorporated in many applications, including in gate stacks. Some metal carbide process are known, including some that deposit films comprising relatively low amounts of aluminum. However, there has not yet been a process known to deposit an aluminum carbide film comprising relatively high levels of aluminum in the film. Additionally, in order to scale resistivity, which is required as aspect features reduce in size, there will be a need to reduce carbon content. Thus, there is a need for films and methods of depositing films which comprise relatively high amounts of aluminum, and/or relatively low amounts of carbon.